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IMAGES: Wombs With a View

The placenta allows a mammalian mother to speed nutrients to her fast-growing embryos. Pathologists, evolutionary biologists, and other researchers can absorb information about the organ at Comparative Placentation from Kurt Benirschke, a professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego. For more than 140 mammal species—from the house mouse to the African elephant—the site describes placental anatomy, gestation, implantation, and abnormalities. Accounts feature a wealth of images such as a cross section which shows a 17-day-old mouse fetus in the uterus.